Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He can't even recall the last time he took a shower.

The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.

And just when it seems things can't get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can't refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him - and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name.

It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case.

In New York, there's a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Of course, most humans are oblivious to this, but Cal Leandros is only half-human. His father's dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares-and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal.READ MY REVIEW HERE!

On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the Jersey shore and prepare to break into the Paragon Hotel. The once-magnificent structure is now boarded up and marked for demolition.
They are "creepers": urban explorers with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. Reporter Frank Balenger joins them to profile this highly illegal activity for the New York Times. But he isn't looking for just another story, and soon after they enter the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, he gets more than he bargained for. Danger, fear, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Book BlurbThere are monsters among us. There always has been and there always will be. I’ve known that since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one…Well, half of one, anyway.

Welcome to the Big Apple. There’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side—and that’s only the beginning. Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares—and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal. Why? Cal hasn’t exactly wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

He and his half brother, Niko, have managed to stay a step ahead for four years, but now Cal’s dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they’ve always wanted him: He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life….

MY REVIEW

Caliban Leandros considers himself part monster. Which is the basic truth. He is part human and part Auphe (elf). Not the whimsical elves that we instantly think of but the much darker, evil cousin. Cal's half younger brother Niko acts more like his big brother. Niko is human and has made it his life to protect Cal from the Auphe or Grendels as they call them. They make their home in New York City thinking the Auphe wouldn't follow them there since they stay to the more remote areas. Unfortunately they couldn't be more wrong. The Auphe want to open a gate into the past when they ruled the world and to do this they need Cal.

We meet many interesting characters. There is the Seer, Georgina who Cal has a crush on and Promise, a vampire who Niko is interested in. The ever humorous Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, joins the group to save Cal after his body is possessed by a male banshee who is working with the Auphe.

Cal's character is a typical teenager. All he wants to do is eat and sleep and be normal, which he can't because of who he is. He hates that side of him and just wants to ignore it so that it will go away. He wants a place to call home and to quite running. Niko has taught himself everything he can on all the different demons and mythical creatures and also many different fighting techniques to help defend him and Cal. His devotion is unwavering and that devotion is what saves Cal.

I enjoyed this book and the build-up to the final fight is incredible and had me holding my breath! So glad that I picked this book up and took a chance on it. Fantastic read!

Rating:

4 of 5 Stars

**book was personally purchased by me**Pictures from Rob Thurman's website

Sunday, September 26, 2010

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to only sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library. If interested please click the link above and sign up!

PURCHASED

The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsIn the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor tohis or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capitol wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rule. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

GOODREADS

The Dark Queen by Susan CarrollFrom Brittany's misty shores to the decadent splendor of Paris's royal court, one woman must fulfill her destiny -- while facing the treacherous designs of Catherine de Medici, the dark queen. She is Ariane, the Lady of Faire Isle, one of the Cheney sisters, renowned for their mystical skills and for keeping the isle secure and prosperous. But this is a time when women of ability are deemed sorceresses, when Renaissance France is torn by ruthless political intrigues, and all are held in thrall to the sinister ambitions of Queen Catherine de Medici.

Then a wounded stranger arrives on Faire Isle, bearing a secret the Dark Queen will do everything in her power to possess. The only person Ariane can turn to is the comte de Renard, a nobleman with fiery determination and a past as mysterious as his own unusual gifts. Riveting, vibrant, and breathtaking, The Dark Queen follows Ariane and Renard as they risk everything to prevent the fulfillment of a dreadful prophecy -- even if they must tempt fate and their own passions.